Fishers City Councilors Rich Block and Eric Moeller hosted their second monthly Council Connect session Wednesday morning, and most of the discussion centered on the future of the Gray Eagle golf course. Ron Diamond, David Brackenhoff and Chuck Knox, all from the Gray Eagle neighborhood, made their case on what the impact would be to homeowners if the course closes later this year, as announced by RN Thompson in late August of 2018.
Brackenhoff and Diamond said homeowners paid a large premium to have their homes built along that golf course, and if the course closes, those homes could see a loss of 18 percent value, which would be tens of thousands of dollars each.
Block responded that the city is looking into anything it can do to be helpful to the homeowners at Gary Eagle, and local government officials are “sensitive” to what the residents want.
The homeowners at Gray Eagle want the current golf course to remain as a golf facility. One point of contention is the value of the golf course. RN Thompson has maintained the property has a much higher value than Gray Eagle homeowners believe.
The homeowners association and another group of residents have banded together in an effort to find a solution. One idea was to have a group of homeowners buy the golf course, but there was not enough interest for that idea to work.
Block told the Gray Eagle representatives that there have been talks involving Mayor Scott Fadness, RN Thompson and a potential buyer, but there is nothing to report on any progress from that front. Block says he is “encouraged” by what’s happening on talks centered on the future of the golf course property.
The remainder of the session centered on talk of an indoor sports facility. A private sector group was pursuing such a facility in the Saxony area on Olio Road, but that project will apparently not happen. Block said the city could pursue such a project in the future. Mayor Scott Fadness recently said an indoor sports facility is a major need for the city of Fishers.
The next Council Connect session is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25, at a location to be named later.